Telegraph single key



June 4, 1968 w. H. srouT TELEGRAPH SINGLE KEY d JAM INVENTOR.

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Filed March l5, 1965 67: Taeeens,

United States Patent O This invention relates to keys for sendingmessages by telegraphic or wireless code, and more particularly to Ikeyshavin-g a single operating lever yfor transmitting both dots and dashes.

In my Patent 3,160,705, issued Dec. 8, 1964, a tele- :graph sending keyis disclosed which is of the double lever type. That is, the key isprovided with two levers, one` of Iwhich makes dots and the other ofwhich makes dashes. Instead of the electric contacts of the key beingopened by springs, magnets are employed. The key shown in-my patent hasmany advantages, but some operators prefer a single key, which is one inwhich only one pivoted lever is used. When swung in one direction dotsare transmitted and when swung in the opposite direction dashes aremade. In the past, the lever has usually been returned to centralposition by a spring. Magnetic force has been suggested, but thearrangement is such that centering is not positive. In other words, thelever tends to vibrate laterally when moved back to centered position bythe magnet, whereby unwanted dots and dashes may be transmitted.

It, is among the objects of this invention to provide a telegraphsending key of the single lever type, in which the lever is quicklyreturned to centered position by a magnet, in which the lever stops deadwithout vibrating when returned to centered position, and which can headjusted to perform in any manner desired by the operator.

In accordance with this invention a telegraph key, having front and rearends, is pivotally mounted on a base on a vertical axis. Stationaryelectric contacts are mounted on the base on opposite sides of the levernear its front end beside electric contacts that are carried by theopposite sides of the lever. At the rear end of the lever there is meansfor manually swinging it back and forth to move either of the levercontacts into engagement with the adjacent stationary contact. A rolleris connected to the front end of the lever on an axis extendinglengthwise of the lever, and a magnet is mounted on the base beneath theroller. The top of the magnet has a pair of laterally spaced poles,above which there is a pair of metal strips that are substantiallyparallel to the base. The adjacent ends of the strips are between themagnet and the roller. The strips are rigidly supported with a gapbetween them that is disposed above the center of the magnet and thatextends lengthwise of the lever. The roller is adapted to roll on thestrips when the lever is swung back and forth. When the lever isreleased by the operator, the magnet returns the roller to engagementwith the opposite sides of the gap to center the lever between thestationary contacts.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. l is a plan view of my key;

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are end views taken in the direction of arrows III and IV,respectively, in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, an electronic type key is shown, although theinvention is equally applicable to the older style telegraph keys thatmake the dots and dashes directly. With an electronic key, there are twosets of electric contacts, one set .for the dots and the other set forthe dashes to be transmitted. The movable contacts are movedhorizontally. For this purpose, a substantially horizontal bar lever 1is pivotally connected near its rear end on a vertical axis to asuitable base 2, which may be metal. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, the

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lever may be provided with aligned upper and lower pivot pins 3 seatedin bearings 4 and 5 secured to the base and to a yoke 6 mounted on thebase and straddling the lever bar. Finger pieces or paddles 7 areattached to the opposite sides of the same end of the lever to permitthe operator to swing the lever on its pivot.

IOn opposite sides of the lever near its front end are stationaryelectric contacts 9 mounted on the inner ends of horizontal adjustingscrews 10 extending through posts 11 mounted on the base. These postsmay be insulated from the base by upper and lower insulating washers 12and 13, through which holding screws 14 extend. The screws are spacedfrom the walls of enlarged openings 1S through the base in any suitablemanner, such as by insulating sleeves or by inner flanges on the washersprojecting into the ends of the holes. Wires 16 are connected to thelower ends of the screws to connect the stationary contacts in thedesired electric circuits. A ground wire (not shown) can be connected tothe base in any suitable location.

Mounted on opposite sides of the lever between the two stationarycontacts are two movable contacts 18 that normally are spaced a shortdistance away from the stationary contacts. When the paddles are swungin one direction or the other, one of the contacts on the lever willengage the adjacent stationary contact and close the correspondingelectric circuit. Depending upon which set of contacts is closed, eithera dot or a dash will be transmitted.

It is a feature of this invention that the lever is returned `quicklyand positively to its nor-mal position midway between the stationarycontacts by nonmechanical means every time the paddles are released.Specifically, magnetic means are used for this purpose. Accordingly, aroller 20 is disposed in front of the lever, where it is supportedthrough suitable means from the lever, with the axis of the rollerextending lengthwise of the lever. IPreferably, the roller is journaledon the front end of a tiny shaft 21 that is rigidly mounted on the frontend of a leaf spring 23, the rear end of which is clamped in a slot inthe front end of the lever by means of a screw 24. Mounted on base 2beneath the roller is a permanent magnet 26 having a pair of laterallyspaced poles at its top. Thus, the magnet may be of the horseshoe type.yMounted on the base on opposite sides of the magnet is a pair of posts27 having screws 2S in their upper ends for attaching to them the outerends of flat metal strips 29 that are substantially parallel to thebase. The inner ends of the strips are disposed between the roller andmagnet. 'Ihey also are spaced apart to provide a narrow lgap betweenthem. The Igap is disposed above the center of the magnet and it extendslengthwise of the lever. The strips may be made of a nonferrousmaterial, but it is preferred to make them of soft iron.

The height of metal strips 29 above the ibase is such that with nomagnetic attraction present, the roller would be supported by spring 23a slight distance above the strips or in very light engagement withthem. However, the magnet pulls the roller downward into firm engagementwith the metal strips. Thus, when the lever is swung back and forth bythe paddles, the roller will roll back and forth along the strips andacross the narrow gap between them. When the paddles are released, themagnetic force acting through the strips will cause the rollerimmediately to roll toward and into the gap to engage its oppositesides; that is, the adjacent upper edges of the strips. When the rolleris in this central position it will hold the lever in centered positionalso, with the movable contacts 18 spaced from both stationary contacts.lIhus, the magnet always positively centers the lever every time thepaddles are released. Another advantage is that the moment the rollerrolls into the gap between the metal strips, it stops dead so that thereis no vibrating of the lever laterally.

Since different operators like different degrees of resistance tomovement of the lever bar away from center, this resistance can 'be\varied to suit them in three difierent ways. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3,the magnet can be rigidly mounted on the upper end of a screw 31 that isthreaded through the base. The magnet can be turned with the screw andthen locked in the new position by means of a nut 32 on the lower end ofthe screw. As the magnet is rotated from the position shown in FIG. 3,the magnetic force that it exerts on the roller will be reduced. Thisforce also can be varied by raising and lowering the magnet relative tometal strips 29 above it. This likewise is done by turning the magnet torun screw 31 up or down in the base. A third way of changing theresistance of the lever to movement away from its centered position isto loosen the screws 28 that hold the metal strips and then move thestrips toward or away from each other to vary the width of the gapbetween them. The strips can be slotted for this purpose. The wider thegap, the more efort the operator will have to apply to the lever inorder to swing it away from centered position.

The lever swings extremely free 4because there is no restraining springconnected to it. This invention also allows close setting of thecontacts lbecause centering of the lever is very definite and positiveand there is no lateral bounce that would cause the contacts to engagewhen the lever is released. A very high rate of message transmission can`be produced with this key Aby an expert operator.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a telegraph key that includes a base, a lever above the basehaving front and rear ends, means pivotally mounting the lever on thebase on a vertical axis, stationary electric contacts mounted on thebase on opposite sides of the lever near its front end, electriccontacts carried 'by the opposite sides of the lever between the xedcontacts and normally spaced therefrom, and manually operable means atthe rear end of the lever for swinging it back and forth to move eitherof the contacts thereon into engagement with the adjacent stationarycontact; the improvement comprising a roller in front of the lever,means connected to the front end of the lever and extending forwardtherefrom for supporting the roller with its axis extending lengthwiseof the lever, a magnet mounted on the base beneath the roller and havinga pair of laterally spaced poles at its top, a pair of metal stripssubstantially parallel to the base projecting between the roller andmagnet, and means rigidly supporting the strips with a gap between themthat is disposed above the center of the magnet and extends length` wiseof the lever, the roller being adapted to roll on said strips when thelever is swung back and forth, and said magnet normally holding theroller in engagement with the opposite sides of said gap to center thelever between said stationary contacts.

2. In a telegraph key according to claim 1, including means mounted onthe 'base adjustably supporting the magnet to vary the magnetic force itexerts on said roller.

3. In a telegraph key according to claim 1, including means mounted onthe base adjustably supporting the magnet to permit it to be raised andlowered relative to said strips.

4. In a telegraph key according to claim 1, in which said magnet can beturned on a vertical axis to vary the magnetic force it exerts on saidroller.

5. In a telegraph key according to claim 1, in which said strips areadjustable toward and away from each other to vary the width of saidgap.

`6. In a telegraph -key according to claim 1, in which saidroller-supporting means includes a spring secured to the front end ofthe lever and extending forward therefrom, and means carried by thefront end of the spring rotatably supporting the roller.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,098,898 7/1963 Jakosky et al.178--108 3,293,363 12/1966 Pfeiffer 178-108 THOMAS A. ROBINSON, PrimaryExaminer.

1. IN A TELEGRAPH KEY THAT INCLUDES A BASE, A LEVER ABOVE THE BASEHAVING FRONT AND REAR ENDS, MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE LEVER ON THEBASE ON A VERTICAL AXIS, STATIONARY ELECTRIC CONTACTS MOUNTED ON THEBASE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE LEVER NEAR ITS FRONT END, ELECTRICCONTACTS CARRIED BY THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE LEVER BETWEEN THE FIXEDCONTACTS AND NORMALLY SPACED THEREFROM, AND MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS ATTHE REAR END OF THE LEVER FOR SWINGING IT BACK AND FORTH TO MOVE EITHEROF THE CONTACTS THEREON INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ADJACENT STATIONARYCONTACT; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A ROLLER IN FRONT OF THE LEVER,MEANS CONNECTED TO THE FRONT END OF THE LEVER AND EXTENDING FORWARDTHEREFROM FOR SUPPORTING THE ROLLER WITH ITS AXIS EXTENDING LENGTHWISEOF THE LEVER, A MAGNET MOUNTED ON THE BASE BENEATH THE ROLLER AND HAVINGA PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED POLES AT ITS TOP, A PAIR OF METAL STRIPSSUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE BASE PROJECTING BETWEEN THE ROLLER ANDMAGNET, AND MEANS RIGIDLY SUPPORTING THE STRIPS WITH A GAP BETWEEN THEMTHAT IS DISPOSED ABOVE THE CENTER OF THE MAGNET AND EXTENDS LENGTHWISEOF THE LEVER, THE ROLLER BEING ADAPTED TO ROLL ON SAID STRIPS WHEN THELEVER IS SWUNG BACK AND FORTH, AND SAID MAGNET NORMALLY HOLDING THEROLLER IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID GAP TO CENTER THELEVER BETWEEN SAID STATIONARY CONTACTS.